₦airaland Forum

Following Wednesday’s increase in the pump price of petrol by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), petrol station owners in Osun State have jerked up their prices to N1,350 and N1,400 per litre.

Checks across Osogbo, Osun State capital, showed that independent marketers have adjusted their petrol dispensing facilities to reflect the new price regime.

Our correspondent, who monitored the situation in Ogo Oluwa, Ayetoro, Igbona, Estate and Lameco areas discovered that motorists were buying the product at N1,350 and N1,400 depending on the selling prices at different filling stations.

Before the latest increase in the price of the product, independent marketers were selling a litre for N1,100 and N1,200, while the two NNPCL stations located in Abere and Lameco were selling a litre to motorists at N865.

Some of the motorists and commercial bus drivers who spoke to our correspondent lamented the increase in the price of petrol, expressing fear that the development may further worsen the hardship being faced by Nigerians.

A commercial bus driver, Habeeb Moradeyo, said that “this latest increase in the price of petrol by the government is unjustifiable bearing in the current economic crisis occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy in May by President Bola Tinubu.”

Moradeyo, who spoke in Yoruba language added: “This is wickedness on the part of our leaders. You can imagine how this increase in the price of petrol will affect the prices of goods, commodities and transport fares. How do they want us to maximise profit? It was really hard before because we spent a large chunk of our (profit) on petrol. Now they increased the price again.”

Another motorist, Segun Akinduro, called on the government to reverse the price increase in the interest of the masses, stressing that “Nigerians are barely struggling to survive amid the current economic hardship. This is like compounding the burden of the people.”

An upward review of petrol pricing became effective at the retail stations of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC Retail) and other independent outlets on Wednesday.

The recent development comes after the NNPC decided to terminate its exclusive purchase agreement with Dangote Refinery.

Earlier on Monday, this newspaper exclusively reported that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) is ending its exclusive purchase agreement with Dangote Refinery, opening up the market for other marketers to buy petrol directly from the refinery.